Rhinegold @ The Yard Theatre – A Review

Rhinegold is the latest production to come to The Yard Theatre from new company Liveartshow – as the name suggests it is a very loose interpretation of the first section of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, ‘Das Rheingold’.

Played on a parse stage with only a few large wooden crates for a set, this 50-odd minute retelling is rather an odd beast. It broadly follows the plot of Wagner’s classic but due to the short running time is severely curtailed and, in a bizzare twist, severed tongues have replaced the magic rings of the original tale – supermarket bags full of offal and a blood-streaked stage feature throughout rather than glinting bands of gold. Musically and visually there is some interest – video production and electronica are used to great effect to augment the storytelling, particularly in the ominous first scene, and there’s even a genuine snippet from the opera by way of powerful soprano Heather Burns who plays Erda, although what they were thinking when they plotted the ‘karaoke number’ by Alberich (played by Nick Figgis) I can’t imagine – frankly a decent pub singer would have done a more convincing job…

To be brutally honest other than the brief aria the only real shining light in the show is classically trained dancer Virginia Scudeletti as Woglinda, who sweeps and swoons about the stage balletically from time to time – she was a delight to watch. I was quite disappointed with the play overall – a shame because it did start with such promise.

If you want to brave ‘Rhinegold’ it runs until this Saturday, 30 June. Tickets are only £9 so it’s no great loss if you don’t find yourself particularly inspired on your visit, although ardent fans of Wagner might want to give this one a rather wide berth! I hope shows with the quality of the lovely ‘If What I Hear Is True’ (which opened the 2012 season at the theatre) feature on The Yard’s bill again soon – now that was a night to remember, rather than one to forget…